VIDEO: Voters to Decide on Main Street Apartments

Could more apartment dwellers on Main Street help revitalize downtown Milford? Voters at Annual Town Meeting later this month will be asked to decide.

If voters approve, owners of buildings in portions of Main Street downtown would be allowed to create up to two residential apartments on their top floor.

The commercial district affected by the proposal falls on the north side of Main Street, from the , and on the south side of the street, from Spring Street to South Main Street.

The warrant article, which will be reviewed by Milford selectmen tonight, would allow properties of three stories or more in the

In 2009, Milford voters rejected a similar article at Annual Town Meeting. This time, town planners have been more specific in describing the requirements for apartments.

To create apartments, building owners would have to obtain  a special permit from the Planning Board. Although 39 buildings in the affected zone face Main Street, only eight buildings have three stories or more, and so would be affected by the change, said

The apartments would be limited to two in number, and up to two bedrooms per unit. Boarding and rooming house units would not be permitted on any floor in the same building as the new apartments.

And the building owners would have to comply with all current codes, including two dedicated off-street parking spaces for each apartment and fire and building codes, according to the warrant article.